Shoulder-braces and suspenders for stockings.



No. 636,562. Patented Nov. 7, I899. E. RDUSE. SHOULDER BRAGES AND SUSPENDERS FOB STOCKINGS.

(Application filed. July 15, 189B.)

. (No Iodel.)

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

ELLEN EousE, or LoNDoN, ENGLAND.

S HOULDER-BRACES AND SUSPENDER S FOR STOCKINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'636,562, dated November *7, 1899.

Application filed July 15, 1899- Serial No- (NO 1110591!) To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLEN RoUsE, a resident of 57 Lancaster Gate, London, W., England,have invented a new and useful Improvement in. Combined Shoulder-Braces and Suspenders for Stockings and other Articles of Dress, (for which an application for patent has been filed in Great Britain, dated the 7th of December, 1898, No. 25,795,) of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to combined shoulder-braces and suspenders for stockings and other articles of dress, and has for its primary object to provide a means of supporting ladies and childrens stockings, undergarments, and skirts, whereby to adapt the device to fulfil the function of a shoulderbrace calculated to promote an erect carriage of the figure without causing discomfort or irksome constraint, the device being readily adjustable to suit figures of different degrees of fullness and height and being capable of yielding to all the movements of the body, whether in walking, cycling, rowing, or other active exercise. The combined shoulderbraces and suspenders are also applicable for supporting mens drawers, particularly when riding or hunting.

The combined suspenders and shoulderbraces will be described as applied for supporting ladies stockings and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein I have illustrated, inv Figure 1, the device as worn, while Figs. 2 and 3 show detail face and perspective views of the means by which the crossing-point and the adjustment for length of the shoulderstraps are efie'cted.

In the case of stocking-suspenders the attachments to the stocking consist of, preferably, for each stocking, a pair of clips a, such as generally used for that purpose, attached to tabs or short divergent lengths of web I), connected to a buckle a, forming a common point of attachment to the main members of thesuspenders. Thesuspendersdandshoulder-braces d' may consist of one continuous length of elasticwebbing crossing diagonally at about the middle of the back, passing over the shoulders in the form of loops (1 and again crossing the back horizontally, the common crossing-point being determined by a sort of slip-buckle device 6, by means whereof the adjustment for the length of the loops d to suit the figure of the wearer may be ef- 5 5 fected. This device comprises a metal disk e, having two sets of slots ff, f f, approximately at right angles to each other and adapted to give passage to the diagonally;

crossed members 01 d of the web, which are 60 led each through two opposite slots f f or f f so that they lie across each other on the face of the disk, as shown in a slightly-loosened form in the perspective View, Fig. 3.

The parts of the shoulder-braces d which pass beneath the arms and across the back horizontally, as at (1*, cross the under face of the disk, as shown by dotted lines, and are made fast to the disk by stitches passing through holes 9 g. the webbing may be inelasticfor instance, that portion between the points (1 (i Fig. 1, or at other suitable points. The crossing of the webs at the rear face of the disk is con- In practice a portion of cealed by a covering-disk h, of soft leather,

secured to the metal disk 6 by the stitches passing through the holes 9 and by other stitches passing through other holes g. The disk e acts as a slip-buckle, the mere passage of the diagonal members of the webs d through the pairs of slotsff and ff, as shown, insuring the retention of the shoulder-loops d at any length of adjustment that may be given to them without the necessity of any more positive engagement, while enabling the adjustment of the shoulder-loops to be varied at will, the buckles c coacting therewith in varying the adjustment for length of the main members 11.

In applying the device to the support of 9c other garments than stockings the main rnembers (1 Would be shorter and may either terminate in tabs provided with clips a, such as above described, or be provided with buttonhole-tabs or other means of attachment,

webbing extending across one face of said the stockings of the wearer, and a covering buckle and having stitches passing therehaving stitches passing therethrough and through and through opposite apertures through the other apertures of the buckle whereby to be attached fixedly to the buckle, whereby it is attached to the rear face of the 15 5 the ends of said webbing being formed into latter, as and for the purpose set forth.

loops adapted to be placed over the shoulders Signed by the said ELLEN RQUSE this 5th of the wearer, and passed downward through day of July, 1899.

diagonal slots of the buckle between the ELLEN ROUSE. same and that portion of the webbing at- In presence of IO tached to said buckle, the lower ends of said T. \V. KENNARD, webbing being adapted for connection with C. G. CLARK. 

